Cactus leather.



F. C. WRIGHT.'

CAGTUS LEATHER.

APPLIGATlON FILED JANl l5 1908.

Patented Oct. 2'?, 1908.

FREDERICK C. WRIGHT, OF TUCSON, ARIZONA TERRITORY.

CACTUS LE ATHER.

.Application filed January 15, 1908. Serial No. 410,976.

Specification of Letters Pe tent.

Patented Cet. 2'?, 1908.

To all whom 'it may concern .1,

Be it known that I, Fiuunuuen C. Taming of rTucson, in thc county oi Pima and Territory of Arizona, have invented certain new and useful vImprovements in Cactus Leather; and I hereby declare that the. following` is a full, clear, and exact descrilition thereof, reference being had to the accompli nyingr drawings, whiclfforni part oil' this specification.

This i1. 'ention a novel artiticial leather produced from vegetable growths of the cacti family, and its object is to produce a leather-like substance by taiinirv or treat ingl slabs, layers, planks, or sheets cut from the. cactus, which sections when treated and dried will have a close resemblance to leather and. can in many instances be used as 'a substitute therefor, particularly Where it is not subjected to very rough or hard usa ge, the product beingspeciali;y useful. in th\l arts, for 'fancy articles of manufacture such as it'urniture, frames, veneering, and many other purposes too numerous for specitic mention.-

The product. oit the invention is distinctively diierent from other' imitation or artilicial leathers, as the sections are tanned as cut from the cacti, and do not have to be' produced by agglutination or compouiidiup,` as lhe commonly known artificial leathers are made.

The invention Will be more clearly comprehendcd from the following description and summarized in the claims; and in the accompanying drawings'l nave illustrated some forms of cacti from4 which such imitation leather has been made by nie, and sonic et the preferred steps in 'its manufacture.

.ln carrying out my invention I preferably -use the Echz'aocccus wsZze/a'z', and varieties thereof, which are commonly known as niggerhead cactus, and grow in short thick stubs to a height sometimes of five feet or more, and fourteen inches or more in diameter. Other scientific names for this cactus are E. emerge' and E. cfg/Znclrz'aceus. I however can use other varieties of cacti, pre t:erring the larger growths, such as the Saguaro cactus, which grows very thick and sometimes to a height ot vforty feet or more.

n the drawings-Figure l represents an ordinary nigger-head cactus. Fin'. a Saguaro cactus. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate modes of cutting the cacti into sections preparatory to treating same for leather. Fig. l represents a part-f of a Saguaro cactus sl'iovfing. its peculiar growth.

ln carrying out. my invention l' lirst cut the cactus plants into suitabh lengths, and then cut. these lengths into sections either transverse, as indicated in Fig. or longitudinal, asindieated in Fig'. 4l; n' into sheets by circuniierential cuts, as in Fig. 5; or @i may eut the cacti into sections or blocks of any desired orin and treat then. The. tions or sheets oit cacti are `then placed in a tanning bath, which may be composed of the following ingredients in about the stated proportions. Tivo ouncestannic acid. Forty pounds of glycerin. Twenty gallonsA et water. i i' The time in which the section. should be lett. in the. tanning` solution will vary with the thickness of the sections, but for sections or sheets like ordinary hide leather or skins in thickness, l have found about twelve hours immersion sutiicient. After this treat.- ment the sheets are taken out of the bath and the excess moisture removed. The sheets may be pressed if desired for this purpose; or may be dried by exposure to sun, or artificially. The .resultant product. can then be stained, coated with oil, or u'ater-proofed by the processes already known for treating?r leather and artificial leather.

li desired the sections may be pressed or rolled before immersion in the bath, to eX- pel Water therefrom; and the tanning solution may be varied. The essential featur t the invention beingthe production of imitation leather, or a, product resembling leather in appearance, from cactus growths, Without disintegration of such Orowths.

The heart. of the Saguaro cactus is peculiar, and as shown in Fig. 6 et drawings it is composed of an annular series of rods c, inclosing a center pith ]",'and surrounded hy a pith or pulp g filling the space between the core and the outer shell or rind /b of the body. T he leather formed from the part g ivill be of different texture from that formed by part f, and will be translucent when tanned, unless eut very thick. lIhe part. c can be removed and tanned in any desired lengths, and it the rods are not lirst separated they will be united when tanned by the intervening Vtiloers., and form a. very tough ridgcd or tinted material, which may he Worked into many fancy articles.

i do not wish to confine myself te the par tienlar tanning bath or solution above named,

pounds ot `gum arabic and ten pounds ot glycerin in twenty lgallons oll water, will produce a Very ,f rood imitation leather t'roinj cactus fiber it the cactus sheetsare immersed therein about twelve hours. The brittleness of the leather will be increased it the proportion ot5 glycerin if; reduced.

The use oli tannicI atid is noty absolutely necessary for tanning' the cactus fiber, but l prefer it. in the lirst solution to impart a tan color to the product and give il' a leather odor. Other substitutes may be employed 'lor obtaining,` the desired color and odor.

llavintgr described my invention what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article ol manufacture, the imitation leather product obtained lfy treat ing cactus, substantially as set forth.

Q. As a new article of manufacture., an artiticial or imitation leather, consisting of sections of-cact us plants treated substantially as described.

Il. The herein described process of treating cactus consisting in cutting the cactus into sections of desired shape and form, then treating such sections with a. preserving and toughening solution, and linally drying the product, substantially as described.

ll. 'l`he herein described process of producine imitation leather from cactus, consisting'iu cuttingA the cactus plant into sections ol the desired size and thickness, immersing such section in a tanningl bath or solution until cured, removing the, sections from the bath and expelling the surplus moist-ure or solut ion therefrom, substantially as described.

lu testinmuv that l claim the foregoing as my own, l atlx my signature in` presence of t\\o witnesses. y

FREDERTCK C. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

'l`. R. BLANnnuc, MONTE lVlAXsrELn. 

